StrikeForce News - Page 48

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Expectations have always been high for Rockhold, but now more so than ever he’s hearing from followers that it is his time to step up.
“I’ve heard that quite a bit,” he stated. “Everyone’s asking me if this is my last Challengers fight and if I’m ready for the big names and stuff like that.”
People’s expectations aside, Rockhold has never been one to sway his course for outside influences.

At long last it's on. Dan Henderson and Jake Shields have agreed to meet in Strikeforce with the Middleweight Title on the line in April. Shields confirmed the bout when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio on Tuesday night. The date & venue are set but apparently can't be revealed until TV arrangements are made. "I have a date (and) venue, but they told me to hold that back," said Shields. "Hopefully CBS. I think it's CBS. There's a slight possibility of Showtime because they're still (working it out). I don't know the rest of the card or any of that yet. But me and Dan's on, and I'm hoping it's on CBS."

Women's MMA is starting to build new stars with names like Cris “Cyborg” Santos and Sarah Kaufman. One name that has been overlooked that could dart out quickly in 2010 is Roxanne Modafferi, who made her Strikeforce debut last year and looks to make big things happen in the near future.

Step aside boys, it's Ladies' Night once again in Strikeforce. Although SF originally announced Karl Amoussou vs. Trevor Prangley as the main event for Friday's SF Challengers event, they've now been bumped to co-headliner in favor of Sarah Kaufman vs. Takayo Hashi for the inaugural SF Women's Bantamweight Championship. The winner could first defend against a possible tournament winner later this year.

that Strikeforce will run an event in Nashville, Tennessee on 4/17 with Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson as the main event, along with Bobby Lashley (and Herschel Walker?) on the fight card. Fedor is not expected to appear at the event.
Henderson vs. Shields should be fine and I don't see how Fedor on the fight card would have been a huge plus. Sure, it would be nice to see him fight Alistair Overeem, but I've always counted on that fight happening in DREAM because of the amount of money that K-1 could put up to make that fight happen. A suggestion perhaps - have the fight happen in Japan on the same day as a Strikeforce CBS event and just air the taped fight on the CBS telecast that same day.

EA, which is a very well known company and who makes big sports games, they couldn’t get our license. They were not fans of the UFC, they were not fans of mixed-martial arts–and they decided to change their business plan and became a “me-too” company and create a “me too” fighter. They couldn’t get what they really wanted, so they tried to create a game that would compete with us. We have a lot of respect for them, but there’s nothing in that game that would entice me or anyone I know that’s an MMA fan to buy it. If you want stars, the best organization, the best graphics, you’re going to stick with what you bought last year because this year’s game is even better. And the fact that we didn’t cheat or cut corners in 2010, I think our fans are going to be very happy.

"I've had a dream of fighting in the world title fight for a long, long time, and finally, I can be in that stage. So what I have to do now is to use my own strength to get my dream, that belt, around my waist. I will carry not only just the Rising Sun on my shoulder, but also everything about my life, that is how I am going to fight. Also I am going to fight with a pride where every women's MMA fighters in the world can be proud of our sport."

NEW YORK – A winner of four in a row, Shamar Bailey (10-1), of Chicago, will face Justin "The Silverback’’ Wilcox (8-3), of San Jose, Calif., on a stacked STRIKEFORCE Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) fight card at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., on Friday, March 26.

Stop me if you've heard this before.... Benji Radach has endured a setback to his career due to injury.A victim of an endless laundry list of physical ailments - broken jaw, herniated disc, torn knee ligaments, broken hands, broken collarbone, and of course, the commonly seen venumnous spider bite - Radach can add a couple more injuries to that unwelcomed list.

The next installment of Strikeforce's Showtime-televised "Challengers" series takes place next week, and fans are invited to the official fighter weigh-ins."Strikeforce Challengers VI: Prangley vs. Amoussou" takes place Friday, Feb. 26 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, Calif.

“People who don’t like Nick Diaz, that doesn’t make sense to me because here’s a guy who has never put a syringe in his (expletive) in his life. He’s a clean fighter. That’s the way it is,” said Gracie.
“He wants to smoke a little weed every once in a while. Who am I to say what a grown man can do? That’s my take on it.”

It turns out a reportedly proposed fight between Strikeforce middleweights Tim Kennedy and Joey Villasenor hasn’t been proposed after all. MMAWeekly.com originally reported that sources indicated the fighters had been offered and agreed to the bout, but follow-ups with both revealed a different scenario.

After the first title defense in the Strikeforce, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos is crazy to be back to the octagon. Without the official confirmation of her next opponent, the Brazilian wants to fight as soon as possible.

That makes two of us. Responding to recent comments from Muhammad Lawal, Gegard Mousasi says a fight between the two-possibly as soon as April-will happen in due time, and he'll sign the fight-just not Lawal's crown. "I don't know about the crown," he scoffed. He also commented on Lawal's confidence, he's even gone as far as calling out Fedor: "Once you get knocked out once in your life, you're not the same fighter," Mousasi said. "He even challenges Fedor (Emelianenko) with six fights, so I don't know what to say about that.
"He's confident because he's never lost. I want to see how he reacts when I punch him, and how he fights then."

"I will definitely fight Fedor this year. There's no doubt about it, unless he says no. I don't believe he will, but I’m a little worried about his managers. I'm sure he wants to fight, but I’m not sure people behind him do too."

In a perfect world, Kaufman will defeat the Japanese fighter at the organization's sixth Challengers event, extend her perfect record to 11-0, claim Strikeforce's first-ever women's bantamweight title, and then successfully defend her title a few times.

The interesting questions revolve around why Lashley is suddenly wanting to springboard his career into an area in which he's likely not experienced enough to handle. Fedor Emelianenko is the top of the mountain for any heavyweight in the world, yet Lashley wants to take the leap despite his best win coming against Bob Sapp, Jason Guida, or Wes Sims.